Unlikely Relations
by LysCooper
Summary: Years before the scourge of Nirokusan appeared in the Greater Faydark, a lone paladin found a child and called her his own, a druidess found her power and a dark elf learned what it means to be human...
1. A Child

((So folks, I'm back! And with a new story no less! HAHA! This is the prequel to Unlikely Defenders. R/R and enjoy!))

The boat rocked gently as it crossed the waves. The seas were calm and the night was quiet as the elven craft sailed along under the stars. In the hold huddled in the dark sat a small family; father, mother and child. They held tightly to one another, the child sleeping soundly in her mother's arms.  
"Kayrn?"  
"Aye, Mikel?"  
"I think we're nearly there."  
Kayrn smiled wistfully in the darkness, her elven features lighting up.  
"Firiona Vie should be the perfect place to raise our little one, our little Soriana."  
She caressed the infant's cheek as she spoke. She smiled at her human love.  
"It'll be much safer than back in Freeport."  
He kissed her cheek softly and held her tightly.

Stormsiege stood on the deck staring out at the skies. His hands were on his belt and every so often brushed against the swords hanging on his hips. He drew the blade hanging on the right and looked it over. It shone in the dull light of the stars and moon, still unused and unscarred by battle. With a soft sigh, the high elf returned the sword to its sheath and rested his hands on the rails on the side of the boat. Soon they would arrive on Kunark and soon his first mission would start.

Dawn broke just as the ship came to its moorings. As the gangplank was lowered, dark elves charged forward, killing those in their path. Stormsiege pulled forth his twin blades and slashed wildly at his foes, his eyes shining in a mix of fear and awe. A blade ripped through his light mail and it hit him that this wasn't a training battle anymore. Screams ripped into his soul from below deck, the sounds of the elven settlers being slaughtered. He bit the inside of his cheek in anger, it had been his task to defend these elves and he had failed them, all of them. His blade ripped through the nearest dark elf, flicking crimson blood all over himself and the other dark elves. He fought with the ferocity of a cornered wolf, edging closer and closer to the hold, closer and closer to the screams. Soon, only a single dark elf stood between him at the door leading below decks.  
"Move aside, dark elf." He growled.  
The dark elf raised his crossbow level with Storm's eyes and shot a volley of bolts at him. Storm struck each of the bolts back at dark elf. The rogue shrieked in pain as his own ammo struck him through his heart. He fell across the doorway and Storm stepped over him. He looked around him, stunned silent. The elves he had been charged to protect lay dead around him, not a sound breaking the eerie air of death. He stepped forward, his boots sounding loudly in his ears as he walked. In the corner, an elven woman stood leaning back against the wall. Lying next to her on the floor was a human man, his throat slashed out. The young paladin walked over timidly and stood in front of the elven woman. He touched his hand gently to her throat, hoping to Tunare he would find a pulse. Her eyes snapped open and she stared up at him.  
"M'Lord Sir Paladin, I beseech you, take my daughter. The tier'dal whom you battled here slew my husband and the selfsame poison that took his life now flows in my veins."  
In the elven woman's arms she held an infant. As she reached out to hand the girl to Stormsiege, she stumbled. The Lord Protector caught the young child just in time to hear the mother's dying words.  
"Her name is Soriana….may Tunare guide both of you…."  
The infant half-elf smiled up at Stormsiege, not knowing to cry, not knowing that she had lost one family only to gain another.


	2. Drawn Into Their Fates

((Sorry I'm taking so long lately...now not only have I got high school to deal with, but now I have a social life! Hehe... R/R and enjoy!))

"Soriana!"  
The half-elf turned quickly, her bright blue eyes shining in the morning light. She stood looking up at her father and spoke with all the wisdom of her six years.  
"I'm only playing, Papa."  
Her blond hair hung in a loose ponytail and she was wearing a light tunic and breeches with leather boots. She was standing at the edge of one of the channels running through Felwithe, her back to the water. Stormsiege grabbed the young elf by the arm and pulled her towards his small house.  
"You can't play that close to the water, Soriana, it's not safe."  
Soriana fought his grip with all her strength.  
"Nothing's safe to you! Some paladin…"  
Stormsiege let go suddenly.  
"What did you say?"  
"You never let me have any fun! All the other kids get to play, get to have fun, get to be normal kids!"  
She was waving her hands in anger as she spoke. She glared at him for a moment and then turned and sprinted off into the city. Stormsiege reached out as if to stop her but then his hand just dropped back to his side. He sat on the front steps of his home, his head in his hands. He heard a voice just in front of him and looked up.  
"Soriana giving you troubles again, Stormy?"  
He looked up slowly. Standing before him was a beautiful young woman. A human would judge her to be in early twenties even though she was in fact much older. Her blonde hair was long and flowing and she was clad in a form fitting silk top and a nearly translucent black skirt.  
"I think she hates me, Mikanna." He shook his head, "No, I know she hates me."  
"That's ridiculous! She loves you and you know it! Where is she?"  
"I—I don't know, she ran off."  
Mikanna sat beside Stormsiege and hugged him.  
"I'll find her for you, alright?"  
He nodded, reluctantly, and then stood, shaking his head.  
"Let her come back when she's ready…" He turned and opened the door to walk into his house, "Can you just check with the guards by the gate for me? Make sure she didn't leave the city?"  
Mikanna smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.  
"Don't worry about it, Stormy, I'll go right away."

Soriana ran blindly along the cobblestone pathways and across the bridge. She could see the guards ahead of her and stopped quickly. She squatted down and watched the guards as they talked amongst themselves. She scooped a pebble up from the road and tossed it into the guard house. Guard Moonstream walked into the fortress and the young half-elf snuck through where he had been standing. With a burst of wild laughter, the elfling ran along the forest floor.

Ailur Wolfheart sat at the base of a tree, his staff across his lap and a wolf sitting beside him. With a loud sigh, he leaned back and stared up at the clouds through the leaves.  
"It looks like a rabbit…"  
He smiled absentmindedly.  
"Excuse me, Master Ailur?"  
He sat up and looked up. A teenage woodelf stood before him, his young friend Larah, the daughter of one of his dearest friends in the druidic fold.  
"Good morning, Lady Cloudwhisper. Come to enjoy the morning with your mother's old friend?"  
Larah giggled as she sat beside him.  
"Well, Master, I was just wondering if you would be willing to take me on as a student."  
Ailur raised an eyebrow at the young woman. He'd known her since she was born and never had she voiced any interest in being a druidess until now. He eyed her carefully and gave her a stern look.  
"Its not all fun and games you know, Larah, quite far from it actually. Training to become a druid is hard work, harder than any other in Kelethin."  
"I know, Master, but I think…no, I know I can do it."  
Resolve flashed in her eyes as she looked at him. He nodded sagely and placed a hand on her shoulder.  
"I can see that…In that case, come with me into the forest tonight and we'll see if Tunare will accept you as one of her students."  
Larah hugged Ailur tightly, much to his stunned amusement.  
"You won't regret this, Master!"  
She jumped to her feet and half-ran, half-skipped towards the city in glee.

Klarias fell forward, scraping both his knees along the rough ground. He cursed under his breath and rolled to dodge the next blow coming his way.  
"Get out, thief!"  
The dwarf brought his axe high over his head to bring it down through Klarias' skull where he lay but the young elf jumped to his feet and darted out of the small building.  
"Ne'er…again…."  
He dropped to sitting in an alley in Kaladim to tally his wounds. A few new holes in his already tattered tunic, that was nothing to worry about, scraped knees, a slight nuisance. He looked down at his hands and swore loudly. They were both covered in his own blood and sliced down the middle. He pulled his dagger out of his boot and cursed again, the blade was also coated in blood. He'd grabbed it by the wrong end…Was that why the dwarf had laughed at his attempts to defend himself? He wiped them off tentatively, pain coursing through his body. He knew he needed a healer, but for that, he'd have to get home.

Soriana giggled in glee as the elves tuned their instruments carefully. One of the younger women tussled the young elf's hair with a smile on her face.  
"Care to play to, little one?"  
Soriana's eyes widened and she nodded excitedly.  
"Can I?"  
"Of course, elfling, I'd never deny one who has the music in their heart." The bard handed a small flute to the young girl and then positioned her hands so she was covering a couple of the holes. "Now blow."  
Soriana blew as hard as she could and the flute let out an ear splitting screech. Every elf present slapped their hands to their sensitive ears until the sound stopped. The elfling dropped the flute in surprise and then looked up at the bards around her expectantly.  
"Nothing to worry about, Soriana," muttered an older woman, "Every elf does it at least once in their life. Now then, I'm sure Stormsiege is worrying about you, so you'd best return to Felwithe."  
Soriana sighed reluctantly but nodded.  
"Yes, ma'am. I will…"  
"Take the flute, child, practice some."  
The little half-elf's eyes brightened as she hugged the flute tightly against her chest.  
"Thank you!"

Stormsiege sat at his desk cleaning his sword when he heard the front door open with a creak.  
"Soriana?"  
"Its just me, Papa."  
"Where have you been?" his concern worked its way into his words, despite his efforts to cover it.  
"No where special, just playing."  
The paladin's eyes narrowed, suspiciously.  
"Soriana…"  
"What, Papa?"  
Her eyes widened in a display of her innocence and he sighed.  
"It's almost time for dinner…"


	3. With Tunare in Her Heart

((check it out! I'm back! A'right. I wrote this chapter ages ago and spent today editting it. I hope you like it! R/R please))

Soriana's eyes danced as she piped out a simple tune on her flute. Te six year old elfling sat on the roof of the Morgan family home and watched as the sun set over the horizon. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up.  
"Its nearly bedtime, Sori, you should come in."  
"Just a moment, Papa, it's almost done," she said, pointing at the fading light with her flute.  
Stormsiege smiled and sat beside her. She yawned and leaned against him, trying in vain to keep her eyes open. When darkness had covered the city, and the stars were twinkling softly, the paladin turned to his daughter and found her to be asleep. A loving smiled crossed his face and he gently lifted her into his arms to carry her into the house.

Larah crept along the forest floor, searching for footprints or any sign of where her teacher was.  
"Master Ailur?" she whispered, "Master Ailur?"  
Only the wind in the trees answered her query. She pulled her cloak tighter around her lithe form and continued walking. Suddenly, she whirled about, hearing something stumbling through the brush. A young elven lad fell at her feet. Both his hands were bleeding freely and there was a deep gash across his back. He looked up at her weakly, his eyes begging her for help. She bent down beside him and examined his wounds. He needed a healer…now. She looked around her quickly, still no signs of Master Ailur. She bit her lower lip and rolled up her sleeves.

Ailur trotted along the forest floor in his wolf-form. He stopped and smelled the air, carefully tracking his student during this test. A rusty smell reached his sensitive nose suddenly. Elven blood.  
"Tunare…I should have stayed closer to her."  
He ran towards the smell and then came to a stop a few feet away from where she knelt by the fallen elf. He laughed inwardly at his irrational panic. Far from being in danger, Larah was struggling to help the poor lad. He watched her intently, hoping she would be one of those graced with Tunare's light.

Larah touched the boy's forehead. He was burning up. A fever…that would mean an infection. She ripped off one of her sleeves, ripping it into strips to bring the wounds on his hands. She felt something strange surging through her. She clasped his calloused hands with her own smooth ones and watched in shock as they began to glow steadily, the light increasing in size until it encompassed both elves. Within moments, the young elven lad lay sleeping, his wounds healed over. A wolf trotted over to Larah's side and then morphed effortlessly into Master Ailur.  
"You've done well, Larah. You've done very well indeed. Let us take him back to Kelethin and find him a place for the night."  
"Master Ailur, I would feel a lot better if he stayed with me…so I can make sure he's alright. He had a fever and…"  
Ailur chuckled and hefted the lad into his arms.  
"Then to House Cloudwhisper, my student, and I'll show you some herbs you can use if he needs further healing."

Klarias awoke slowly, sunlight dancing across his face. He opened his eyes slowly and beheld an amazing sight. An elven lass stood by him, examining him closely. Her eyes were gentle and the same green as the forest. Her auburn hair was tied back in a loose ponytail and wisps hung down over her eyes. Her smile was soft and kind as she realized he was waking up.  
"Good morning. How are you feeling?"  
He gaped at her in shock. Her speech wrang with education and her words showed her to be a noblewoman. Why would a noble care about him?  
"Uh…G'mornin' to you, m'lady. I'm f-fine, really I am."  
She giggled when he said "m'lady" and blushed softly.  
"My name is Larah. And so far as being a lady, I'm only a student druid. But I am quite glad to see that you are indeed much better off than when I found you last night."  
A memory flashed before his eyes, a woman ablaze with light. He had thought it was Tunare and that he was dying when he had seen it.  
"I'm Klarias, Lady Larah, jest Klarias the…er…scout."  
"A pleasure to meet you, Klarias." A pensive look crossed her face for a moment and then she smiled at Klarias, "Your parents are probably worried about you. Should I tell them where you are?"  
Klarias looked away, trying to keep the tears from coming.  
"Don' bother. My ma 'n da been…with Tunare fer years now…"  
Larah looked down.  
"I'm sorry…I didn't know…"  
"S'a'right."

Ailur leaned against a tree staring up at the morning sky. Larah Cloudwhisper had more than passed his test. She walked with Tunare in her heart more than most elves did. If the Mother of them all had granted Larah with druidic powers, then it was Ailur's responsibility and joy to train her. He closed his eyes and smiled. That lad had healed up well, no traces of whatever had happened to him remained. Perhaps Tunare had led Larah to him that night, perhaps there was a reason that Klarias Leafrunner now lived in the halls of House Cloudwhisper.


End file.
